London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

The real threat to Italy’s election: Home-grown social media lies

The real threat to Italy’s election: Home-grown social media lies

Local politicians and social media influencers, not the Kremlin, are the main peddlers of falsehoods ahead of this weekend’s vote.

Ahead of this weekend's election, Italian voters have a problem: separating the truth from the lies they read online.

Despite concerns that Russia will try to meddle in the campaign, Italian politicians and social media influencers have so far played the greatest role in spreading election-related online falsehoods, based on an analysis by Digital Bridge, POLITICO's transatlantic tech newsletter.

These accounts attack immigrants, make accusations against the European Union and promote support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While it might appear reassuring that the Kremlin is not behind such widespread online messaging, the bad news is that Italians are more likely to believe what they read from local sources than foreign sites and social media accounts.

On Sunday, Italy is expected to back a new right-wing coalition, led by Giorgia Meloni of the Brothers of Italy party. The outcome of the vote will be critical for Italy's economy and the political dynamics across the 27-country bloc, where the experienced Mario Draghi, the outgoing Italian prime minister, is expected to be replaced by an untested far-right leader.

Senior European officials, including those in charge of the EU's renewed efforts to clamp down on foreign disinformation, continue to warn the Kremlin may seek to tilt the scales in its favor during this weekend's vote.

But Italian Facebook and Twitter accounts peddling election-related misinformation have significantly outnumbered accounts that do not originate in the country for combined likes, shares and comments, according to data from CrowdTangle, the social media analytics firm owned by Meta, during the three weeks through September 16.

"Information from domestic politicians and domestic media, especially if endorsed by other members of the community, is far more likely to impact people’s attitudes and behaviors than posts from unfamiliar social media accounts or marginal foreign state-controlled media few follow and fewer still trust," said Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, professor of political communication at the University of Oxford, who has tracked the role of politicians in the spread of rumors online.

"It’s obviously awkward for the political class to explicitly recognize the fact that misinformation often comes from the top," he added. "It may be politically more convenient to pretend the problem is nefarious foreign actors. But that doesn’t make it true."


Politicians trying to get elected


Many of the half-truths and falsehoods shared widely in recent days have a clear goal in mind: to muddy the political waters.

More than 90 percent of the pledges from the country's political parties were not rooted in economic reality, according to the Italian fact-checking organization Pagella Politica, which scoured through the commitments from both left- and right-leaning groups. That included everything from falsehoods related to promises of potentially hefty handouts for young voters, to widespread subsidies to combat skyrocketing energy costs.

Many of these pledges were shared widely by leading politicians — an effort to woo voters in an election that is not expected to see any political party garner sufficient votes on its own to form a government, based on POLITICO's Poll of Polls.

On thorny domestic topics, including those associated with rising levels of immigration and Europe's support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, Italian social media accounts have similarly dominated the online conversation. In particular, the role of migrants in Italian society has become a touchpoint for increasing support for far-right politicians.

Leader of Italian far-right party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) Giorgia Meloni, speaks to media during a rally


In recent weeks, Facebook pages specifically created to foster anti-immigrant sentiment posted videos and images of alleged immigrants beating up or abusing people, in the build-up to Sunday's vote. These social media posts, collectively, have been shared thousands of times, particularly via far-right influencers and political candidates, based on CrowdTangle data.

Social media companies including Facebook and Twitter say they have taken action against election-related misinformation in Italy and have promoted legitimate mainstream news content about the upcoming vote.


Russia lurking in the long grass?


Since February, Italian politicians from all political parties have pulled back on their support for Vladimir Putin. But online, some Italian social media users continue to question the EU's backing for Ukraine.

Two European government officials who are tracking Russian disinformation, both in Italy and across the EU, cautioned that despite the Kremlin's perceived lack of role in this weekend's election, Moscow still remained a key player.

Brussels' sanctions blocked Russian state-media like RT and Sputnik from operating in the EU in response to the February invasion. But in the years before the war, Italian-language content from Russian outlets had already garnered a significant audience.

The two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said pro-Russian messages blaming the West for tensions were now part of the daily political discussions in Italy — even if now it was Italians, not a foreign government, who were spreading such misinformation.

"Just because Russia isn't out there publicly doesn't mean it's not having an impact," said one of those officials. "They've already made their message stick, no matter who's now pushing those narratives."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
×